DETROIT, MI.- The Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA) award-winning Web site just got better. The museum launched the second generation of dia.org today, with dramatic improvements and additions to content, functionality and navigation. The upgrades make the site easier to use and allow visitors to access much more information on a number of different levels.

The refurbished dia.org is just one part of the museum’s overall plan to create a more visitor-centered museum. “While we are renovating and expanding the physical building, we are also looking at expanding our thinking about how we serve our visitors,” said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director. “We felt the time was right for us to enhance our Web site’s capabilities in order to keep up with the changing needs of our visitors, many of whom use the Web as a convenient and accessible source of information."

The original dia.org, launched in 1994, was the first U.S. museum Web site to go live. The new dia.org builds on this groundbreaking achievement by changing from a static site, where each page must be updated manually, to a database content management system that automatically generates image-packed pages based according to pre-set criteria. The system can now create a nearly limitless number of views, and show vast quantities of the museum’s priceless collection, depending on how a user queries the information.

“The new site offers greater and easier access to the DIA’s extraordinary resources,” said Jim Boyle, DIA director of marketing. “From e-mail notifications and better calendar functionality to more interaction with the collection and new content like ‘Planning Your Visit,’ dia.org allows visitors to engage with the museum as never before.”